DREDGE: The Pale Reach review - Chilling DLC for instant indie classic

When confronted by the ominous cold, unsure of what lies ahead, the crackling of ice sounds more like flesh tearing or bones breaking.

Squawking birds are the only audible life, save for pained roars reverberating below. They’re the only things able to fly above the desolate ice, oblivious of how much of a gift their wings are in this world. A lonely boat captain doesn’t have so much luck.

DREDGE excels at causing you distress without having to show you a whole lot. It’s nautical terror with an eldritch shade, and this chilling piece of new content is just as effective. Bodies lie within ice whispering cautious words or desperate pleas, and the revelation of what lurks within this frozen tomb has an air of grandiosity that makes The Pale Reach feel like a more vital biome than the game’s already-excellent areas.

Icebreaker

This DLC came as a surprise. We knew the team was working on a new expansion called “The Iron Rig”, but it was delayed and a new DLC was announced in its place. I’d assume the next DLC would be much bigger if this one was whipped up to bridge the gap, but that’s not to say The Pale Reach is an afterthought. It’s indistinguishable from the main game in terms of quality and fits perfectly alongside the rest of DREDGE’s environments.

There’s no main quest to take you to The Pale Reach, and no indication of what you’ll find when you get there. It’s entirely separate from the rest of the game, and you can go there at any time. You can even complete the whole thing early in your playthrough if you want, as long as you’ve got the money for the new equipment you’ll need.

Like the rest of the game’s biomes, this new area has special equipment that you’ll need to break the ice or catch local fish. It’s got mysterious vibes, secrets to uncover and creepy creatures from the depths. It’s exactly what you’d expect from DREDGE, but with a veil of bitter cold that makes it a perfect story to delve into on a dark winter’s night.

Snow Way Out

DREDGE is at its best when it finds the balance between cosy game and spine-chilling terror. Catching fish is a relaxing endeavour and docks provide respite between more dangerous ventures. You can even subdue a new threat by feeding it fish, forging a safer path between the Pale Reach’s icy barriers.

The game world still smartly boxes you in though. In the midst of a biome you’ll be surrounded by walls, sometimes uncertain of which path you need to take to escape, and it can be claustrophobic to navigate between narrow lanes and avoid bashing into glaciers. When night falls and you’re far from a safe port, haunting visions or entities are conjured and your boat’s lights flicker off. Time management is key to avoiding these scares.

You can go to great lengths to make your traversal as stress-free as possible, but you can’t escape the oppressive atmosphere. You can fill your hull with fish, dock at a pontoon before evening and upgrade your boat with the money you’ve made, but you’ll have to reckon with DREDGE’s darkness sooner or later. That inevitability keeps The Pale Reach compelling, just like it does for the rest of the game’s content.

Along with The Pale Reach’s spooky storyline comes a fresh batch of catches. If you’ve played DREDGE you’ll know each biome has its own set of fish and tools to reel them in. The new creatures add even more to the encyclopedia, including more twisted alternate forms to find beneath the frigid waves.

I was pleased to see new aberrations for old fish too. This is a nice way to encourage you to revisit previous areas and see more weird creature designs. I can’t credit the DLC for this though - they were added in smaller updates previously, but if you’ve not played since launch there’s a fairly decent amount of free content to catch up on.

A Brief Detour

I’d hate to spoil much more, as The Pale Reach is best when you don’t know much about it. Trust in the game to deliver a well-crafted experience and you’ll be rewarded. This is a superb slice of sub-zero terror.

The experience melts away pretty fast though, which is about the only negative I can point to. This DLC is only one new area so it won’t take long to complete, especially if you’ve already beaten the game and your boat is fully upgraded. I only spent about 2 hours in The Pale Reach overall.

For the price, it’s easily worth it. I’d say it’s better to go there in the middle of a playthrough rather than saving it for the end. Difficult to do if you’ve already seen everything the base game had to offer like me, but if you have the chance it’s a perfect little side quest to slot in between the main ones. You get some helpful items and the same spooky atmosphere as the rest of the game, only a lot colder.

That said, it’s not quite as strong when you just hop in for an hour or two then hop out after finishing the new quests. It seems like DLC that’s much better suited as a natural discovery on a larger adventure, rather than an isolated storyline played after the fact. It helps to flesh out the game as a whole, but I’m hoping The Iron Rig has more surprises in store.

The Verdict

This add-on may be short, but it feels essential if you like DREDGE. Hopefully, this and the next DLC end up in some kind of definitive edition for players to buy - that feels like the best way to play the game as a whole, and before the next DLC drops I’m definitely starting a new playthrough to experience everything in one journey.

The Pale Reach is a brief but brilliant stop on an outstanding expedition. It’s side content you can tackle at any time, and it’s easily on par with the rest of the game. For DREDGE fans it’s a must-play, and for anyone else looking to get into the game, it’d be hard not to recommend such an effective dose of frozen fear. I can't wait to see what Black Salt Games is cooking up for us next.

4.5/5

Reviewed on PC. Code provided by the publisher.